Groups seek end to sale of polluting wood boilers in New York state

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Health and environmental groups are asking a state court to stop the sale of outdoor wood boilers that don't meet new air quality rules set by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

The regulations, enacted by the DEC in December, were supposed to take effect April 15, but the agency extended that deadline to July 15 to allow retailers time to get rid of their older, noncompliant inventory. The American Lung Association, Environmental Advocates and Earthjustice filed a lawsuit in state Supreme Court in Albany on Tuesday seeking an order to force DEC to stick with the original deadline.

The new regulations cut emissions by 90 percent and require an 18-foot stack height to reduce smoke flowing to neighboring homes. Farm groups say the regulations are too burdensome and smokestacks that tall are dangerous in windy areas.

Outdoor wood boilers, which are enclosed in small outbuildings, are wood-fired furnaces that provide hot water to heat a home, barn or other building. They're most popular in rural areas where landowners can use their own woodlots for energy rather than buy oil or natural gas.

Several states and municipalities have banned or strictly regulated the boilers because of health concerns. Often, thick smoke from the boiler flows near the ground and infiltrates nearby homes rather than dispersing upward.

The new regulations ensure that new wood furnaces will burn at least 90 percent cleaner than older models. Smokestack height requirements of 18 feet and property line setbacks of at least 100 feet further ensure that neighboring property owners won't be subjected to wood smoke, which contains fine particles linked to asthma, heart and lung disease, and other health problems.

Peter Gregg, spokesman for the New York Farm Bureau, said the new rules were unnecessary because wood boilers already have to meet federal clean air standards. New York buyers will now have to choose from a limited selection of higher-priced models certified as meeting the state's stricter standards, he said.

"We feel the commissioner was reasonable in extending the deadline for compliant units to get into the marketplace," Gregg said. "Retailers that sell outdoor wood boilers were sitting on a huge inventory that they weren't allowed to sell."

Lori Severino, a DEC spokeswoman, said the agency has received a copy of the lawsuit but doesn't comment on pending litigation.